Nicholas Sparks Tried to Stop an LGBTQ Club From Forming at His School
The Notebook author criticized the former headmaster of Epiphany School of Global Studies after trying to make the school more inclusive.
www.advocate.com/books/2019/6/13/nicholas-sparks-tried-stop-lgbtq-club-forming-his-school
My pride in family: Why our chosen bonds are stronger than blood
Juanita MORE! is a San Francisco Drag Queen, Activist, and regular Queerty columnist.
Family, I have come to understand, means many different things.
For some, a family is what you are born into. For others, it is the community of people you choose to surround yourself with, one that shares in the joys and sorrows that life presents you.
I met Frank at a nightclub in San Francisco when he was dating one of my friends. I introduced him to everyone as he followed me around that night. We became fast friends. Months later he drove me out to the East Bay to visit my family. After visiting my father and his new wife, we sat in Frank’s truck getting ready to leave.
As I waited for him to start the engine I realized he was sitting there sort of paralyzed, and I pressed him as to why.
He replied, “Your stepmom is also my stepmom.”
We sat and talked about the connection and realized we were more than friends – we were family. Since that day, Frank has been my little brother and I have looked after him as such.
In 2000, Frank met Joe. The two were a perfect match in many ways. Together they became not only inseparable but a true force as activists and leaders for queer rights. In early 2004, when Gavin Newsom directed the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Frank and Joe were one of the first 4,000 couples to be married between February 11 and March 11 of that year.
By August 2004, mere months later, those marriages were voided by the California Supreme Court, kicking people into action. That fall, Frank and Joe were part of the educational bus tour “Marriage Equality Express,” organized by the California chapter of Marriage Equality.
They stopped in 13 states talking about their love for each other. I watched them depart on this adventure with great pride. They had found a way to show and express their love for each other to the world. All of a sudden these two were thrust into the center of the political limelight surrounding gay marriage.
In most conservative political circles, it was unpopular to support these marriages. At the time, our friend and then-California Senator Mark Leno stuck his neck out and not only attended the kick-off rally in Sacramento but took the fight to Washington, D.C., speaking at the U.S. Capitol’s first ever National Marriage Equality Rally.
Frank and Joe returned from Washington, D.C., with even more determination to fight anyone in their way to affirm their right to marry. The following year in California, Senator Leno authored Assembly Bill 849 legalizing same-sex marriages, which helped pave the way for states across the country to do the same. It passed both the Assembly and State Senate only to be vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Related: Juanita MORE’s 12 great outfits that will make you stand out this Pride season
Fast forward to 2010. Frank complained to me that his labor union – yet another form of family – was using the Defense of Marriage Act to deny healthcare to Joe, even after two years of legal marriage. Again, Senator Leno stepped in by writing letters to the union and rallying other elected representatives, attorneys, union leaders, and advocates to the cause, eventually getting the union to change their policy of denying healthcare to same-sex couples.
I recently asked Mark Leno about all of this, and his response was humble and touching. He said, “There is nothing revolutionary about treating people fairly, respectfully, and equally under the law. It’s in our Constitution. Frank and Joe took a principled stance for justice. With their leadership, we won our battle at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Together, my brother and brother-in-law have become fixtures in the fight for rights in San Francisco. As Sister Lourdes Mae Shepard of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Joe has brought blessings and guidance to so many over the years, and in doing so, has further expanded their family.
I’ll never forget when, in the overwhelming aftermath of the Pulse Orlando massacre, Sister Lourdes Mae Shepard provided a blessing at my performance with Glamamore, in which 49 friends and family wrote on our dresses the names of family members taken too soon.
Each year my brother dons his bunny suit for Easter in Golden Gate Park with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, bringing smiles to children and adults alike.
Whether through blood, wine, or water, my family tree has grown over the years. The connections I’ve made in San Francisco are intrinsic to the fabric of my life and experience. I am so proud to have two amazing activists as brothers. And I am blessed to have many families in this life, a loving thread sewn into a vibrant and comforting quilt.
As Pride month approaches, I start to get the same feeling that people do during the holiday season. It’s a time to be surrounded by those who are important to you. And when you are surrounded by those you love, you are truly blessed.
Popular YouTuber and BBC Host Dan Howell Comes Out as Gay to 6.4 Million Subscribers: WATCH
Dan Howell, a popular YouTuber and BBC presenter, came out as gay on Thursday in a 45-minute video to his 6.4 million subscribers. Howell often collaborates with another YouTuber, Phil Lester, who has 4 million subscribers. The other reveal in Howell’s video was that he and Lester, who presents with him on BBC, once dated.
“Queer people exist,” said Howell. “Choosing not to accept them is not an option. To anyone watching this that isn’t out, it’s okay. You’re okay. You were born this way. It’s right. And anyone that has a problem with it is wrong. Based on your circumstance you might not feel ready to tell people yet, or that it’s safe, and that’s fine too. Just know that living your truth with pride is the way to be happy. You are valid. It gets so much better. And the future is clear. It’s pretty queer.”
i always wanted to upload this next video in the month of june ..it ended up taking an entire year longer than i thought but here we are again and now it is time
— Daniel Howell (@danielhowell) June 13, 2019
this really feels like a new chapter for me. i doubted all my life that the world would change to be a place i could personally feel open and accepted and that’s because of all of you. thank you. pic.twitter.com/IONmKeygR2
— Daniel Howell (@danielhowell) June 13, 2019
The post Popular YouTuber and BBC Host Dan Howell Comes Out as Gay to 6.4 Million Subscribers: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Popular YouTuber and BBC Host Dan Howell Comes Out as Gay to 6.4 Million Subscribers: WATCH
Boston’s Curtis Guild School Earns HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools Seal of Excellence
Post submitted by Kimmie Fink, Welcoming Schools Consultant
“Everyone is welcome here. I am welcome here. You are welcome here.”
On Wednesday morning, the students at Curtis Guild Elementary School in Boston, wearing the colors of the rainbow, greeted their guests — including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and other elected officials — with these simple, yet incredibly powerful words. The school community gathered to receive Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Welcoming Schools Seal of Excellence, the program’s highest honor.
The Seal of Excellence is awarded to schools that demonstrate outstanding dedication to creating and sustaining welcoming and inclusive school environments by meeting stated benchmarks and doing innovative work to further equity and diversity. Over the past three years, these students, along with the school’s administration, teachers and support staff, have been hard at work cultivating an environment in which everyone at Curtis Guild Elementary School is safe, included and welcome. Among Guild’s notable achievements are the creation of a Welcoming Schools library and the development of “community-facing policies” that promote an inclusive school culture and detail the rights of LGBTQ students.
As part of their efforts to earn the Seal, staff at Curtis Guild were trained in Welcoming Schools professional development modules by Steven Chen, Welcoming Schools certified facilitator and director of training and accomodations at Boston Public Schools. Chen’s dedication to Welcoming Schools implementation in Boston Public Schools and ongoing support of schools in earning the Seal of Excellence was also recognized during the ceremony.
Many local officials and leaders attended the event to honor Guild’s tremendous accomplishment, including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, State Rep. Adrian Madaro, City Councilor Lydia Edwards and both the interim and incoming Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. For the first time, a significant contingent from the local HRC Steering Committee was also present to show their support. Ellen Kahn, HRC Foundation’s director of children, youth & families, presented the Seal of Excellence banner to Principal Karen McCarthy to be proudly displayed in the school.
Left to Right: Interim Superintendent Laura Perille, New Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, State Representative Adrian Madaro, Mayor Marty Walsh, Principal Karen McCarthy, City Councilor Lydia Edwards, HRC Foundation Director of Children, Youth & Families Ellen Kahn
Guild is the 18th school in the nation to earn the Welcoming Schools Seal of Excellence and the third in Boston Public Schools, following John F. Kennedy School and Gardner Pilot School. Three other Boston schools have begun the process toward earning this distinction. Welcoming Schools is so proud of the work Guild has done. It is a recognition well-deserved, but the true reward is the smiling faces of children for whom school is a place where they are seen, respected, valued and empowered to be themselves.
HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier professional development program providing training and resources to elementary school educators to:
OCDSB BELL HIGH SCHOOL PRIDE FLAG LONG SHOT
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BELL HIGH SCHOOL (BHS) HOISTS OCDSB PRIDE FLAG IN OTTAWA
Florida to Execute Killer Who Targeted Gay Men
Gary Ray Bowles, who said he hated gay people, will be executed in August for the 1994 murder of Walter Hinton in Jacksonville.
www.advocate.com/crime/2019/6/13/florida-execute-killer-who-targeted-gay-men
EXCLUSIVE: Valentina talks non-binary identity in a new clip from ‘Werq the World’
Having survived both Drag Race and Rent: Live, drag superstar Valentina has returned, this time as the subject of an episode of Werq the World, the new documentary series streaming from Drag Race production company World of Wonder.
Werq the World shows off the behind the scenes exploits and drama of the Drag Race alumni currently on the world drag tour of the same name. Each episode of the new series focuses on a different queen from the Werq tour, and the effort it takes to tour the world in heels.
Related: Valentina on honoring the past of her role as the saintly Angel in ‘Rent’
This week’s episode focuses on California native Valentina. In it, she dishes on the origin of her drag persona, her non-binary identity out of drag, and the responsibility of representing Latin culture on a global scale.
Along with Valentina, Alyssa Edwards, Shangela, Latrice Royale, Sharon Needles, Kim Chi, Detox, Violet Chachki, Aquaria, and Kennedy Davenport all perform on the Werq the World tour, and appear across the season of the new series.
Werq the World streams exclusively on the subscription service WOW Presents Plus every Thursday.
Nicholas Sparks, Bryan Singer, Daughtry, Bhupen Khakhar, Air Force One, Kellyanne Conway, Arianna Grande, Ewan McGregor: HOT LINKS
BHUPEN KHAKHAR. Indian artists’s groundbreaking 1980 erotic gay work sells for $3.2 million at Sotheby’s.
RIP. Sylvia Miles.
NICHOLAS SPARKS. The author’s Christian school is a hotbed of bigotry, racism, and homophobia. “Schultz came into the office Wednesday for the first time in months and met with the staff, according to a person in the room. He announced that he was letting everyone go except those in senior leadership positions, adding he would not make a decision about running for president until after Labor Day. “
BRYAN SINGER. X-Men director reportedly settling rape case for $150,000.
HOWARD SCHULTZ. Starbucks billionaire cuts staff, puts campaign on hiatus.
PETE BUTTIGIEG. Supports a post-office Trump criminal investigation: “I would want any credible allegation of criminal behavior to be investigated to the fullest.”
VERY SAD THING. Nancy Pelosi repeats allegations of a “criminal cover up” by Trump. “Everybody in the country should be totally appalled by what the president said last night. Should be totally appalled. He has a habit of making appalling statements. This one borders on so totally unethical but he doesn’t even realize it. However, what we want to do is have a methodical approach to the path we’re on and this will be included in that. But not any one issue is going to trigger, oh now we’re going to go do this.”
Nancy Pelosi: “Yesterday, the president gave us, once again, evidence that he does not know right from wrong. It’s a very sad thing.”
Via CSPAN pic.twitter.com/9N147ha3sC— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 13, 2019
KELLYANNE CONWAY. Federal watchdog agency recommends Trump adviser be removed from federal office over violations of Hatch Act. ‘The decision about whether to remove Conway is up to Trump. A senior White House official said Thursday the president is unlikely to punish Conway and instead will defend her. The White House counsel immediately issued a letter calling for the agency to withdraw its recommendation that Conway be removed — a request the Office of Special Counsel declined.’
Trump has just sanctioned a redesign of Air Force One to look like his private jet upside down. t.co/S1nnJJ32wI pic.twitter.com/0p5FDN1wwD
— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) June 13, 2019
He’s turning Air Force One into Trump Shuttle pic.twitter.com/sj6NHAPjWi
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) June 13, 2019
GRACE PETRIE. The folk singer writing new gay anthems: “Petrie is a thirtysomething folk singer who specializes in guileless, self-penned protest songs about Brexit and income inequality and gay rights—a sort of butch-lesbian Billy Bragg. “
DEANNA DAUGHTRY. Wife of American Idol rocker Chris Daughtry says she’s bisexual. ‘Today, the song, “As You Are,” is the brand-new single off Daughtry’s latest album Cage to Rattle. But the couple reveals it’s more than a unique, first-time collaboration. The ballad, both tender and powerful, is Deanna’s “coming out,” her victory in a lifetime struggle to embrace her bisexuality.
ARIANA GRANDE. Singer hits back at anti-gay protester.
man… saddened but not surprised by this one bit. i’m so sorry any of my fans had to encounter this. we will do our best to ensure this doesn’t happen again. proud of u all for not fighting / engaging violently. never worth it. wishing him peace & a healed heart cause girl yikes
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 9, 2019
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, starring Ewan McGregor.
THIRSTY THURSDAY. Bad Boy Tony Harth by David Anthony.
The post Nicholas Sparks, Bryan Singer, Daughtry, Bhupen Khakhar, Air Force One, Kellyanne Conway, Arianna Grande, Ewan McGregor: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
HRC Releases Sex Discrimination Report
Today, the HRC published its “Inclusive Interpretations of Sex Discrimination Law,” a report that outlines how federal courts have developed a consistent legal narrative regarding discrimination against LGBTQ people as constituting unlawful sex discrimination under our nation’s civil rights laws.
“Over the past two decades, federal courts have made it clear that discrimination against LGBTQ people falls under existing sex discrimination laws,” said Sarah Warbelow, HRC’s Legal Director. “And numerous federal agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), have affirmed this interpretation and incorporated this into administrative protections in the context of housing, healthcare, grant making and more.”
The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. This discrimination can take many forms. Although traditionally we have understood sex discrimination at work to include unfair bias that influences hiring, firing, and promotion decisions, protections from sex discrimination extend far beyond these explicit actions. Significant protections from discrimination have flowed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community through an inclusive interpretation of the meaning of “sex” to also prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes. This interpretation has been applied to LGBTQ people for almost two decades by both federal courts and federal agencies.
The Supreme Court has granted cert in three cases directly addressing Title VII coverage and LGBTQ people and could effectively decide whether to solidify or take away non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people under federal civil rights laws — which prohibit sex discrimination in contexts ranging from employment to housing, healthcare, and education.
However, judicially crafted protections cannot replace explicit federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Without these laws, victims of discrimination will have to file a suit against an employer, landlord, or business owner and argue their case in a court of law.
This is why the Equality Act is so important. The Equality Act amends existing civil rights law—including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Jury Selection and Services Act, to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics.
After the Equality Act received historic bipartisan approval in the House, the Human Rights Campaign called upon the Senate to finally ensure LGBTQ have comprehensive non-discrimination protections at the federal level.
www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-publishes-sex-discrimination-report?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
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